On Tuesday September 28, 2010, 5:46 pm EDT
Sour economic mood in
living room and boardroom
NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans
in both the living room and the boardroom are growing more fearful about the
economy, creating a Catch-22 for the job market: Shoppers won't spend until
they feel more secure, and business won't hire until people start spending.
The eroding views were
revealed Tuesday by two separate surveys, one that found everyday Americans are
increasingly pessimistic about jobs and another that found CEOs have grimmer
predictions about upcoming sales.
The monthly consumer
confidence index from the Conference Board, a private research group, fell to
48.5 in September, its lowest point since February and down from 53.2 in
August.
It takes a reading of 90 to
indicate a healthy economy -- a level not approached since the recession began
in December 2007.
Recession rips at US
marriages, expands income gap
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
recession seems to be socking Americans in the heart as well as the wallet:
Marriages have hit an all-time low while pleas for food stamps have reached a
record high and the gap between rich and poor has grown to its widest ever.
The long recession
technically ended in mid-2009, economists say, but U.S. Census data released
Tuesday show the painful, lingering effects.
The annual survey covers
all of last year, when unemployment skyrocketed to 10 percent. The jobless rate
is still a stubbornly high 9.6 percent.
Iceland ex-PM faces
possible charges in meltdown
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) --
Iceland's former Prime Minister Geir Haarde has been referred to a special
court in a move that could make him the first world leader to be charged in
connection with the global financial crisis.
After a heated debate
Tuesday, lawmakers voted 33-30 to refer charges to the court against Haarde for
allegedly failing to prevent Iceland's 2008 financial crash -- a crisis that
sparked protests, toppled the government and brought the economy to a
standstill by collapsing its currency.
Haarde faces up to two
years in jail if found guilty. The court, which could dismiss the charges, has
never before convened in Iceland's history. A hearing date has not yet been
set.
HP sees 2011 earnings
topping analyst projections
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
Hewlett-Packard Co. expects its earnings in the upcoming year to exceed analyst
projections.
The world's largest
technology company offered the rosy outlook Tuesday during a meeting with
securities analysts. HP didn't give any guidance on when it will appoint a new
CEO.
HP says it expects earnings
for the year through October 2011 to be $5.05 to $5.15 per share, excluding
certain items. That's up by as much as 14 percent from this year.
Analysts were forecasting
$4.99 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Deal news helps stocks
recover from early losses
NEW YORK (AP) -- A late
push gave stock indexes moderate gains Tuesday as investors brushed off news
that consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level since February.
A big jump in earnings from
Walgreen Co. and another corporate acquisition gave investors enough confidence
to extend a four-week rally. Stocks were mixed for much of the day but
struggled higher at the finish.
With only two trading days
left in September, the Dow Jones industrial average is on track for its best
September since 1939 with a gain of 8.4 percent in the month so far. It's still
up only 4.1 percent for the year.
Home prices to take hit
next year in many markets
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index, a national gauge of home
prices released Tuesday, ticked up 0.6 percent in July from June. But the gain
is merely temporary, analysts say. They see home values taking a dive in many
major markets well into next year.
That's because the peak
home-buying season is now ending after a dismal summer. The hardest-hit
markets, already battered by foreclosures, are bracing for a bigger wave of
homes sold at foreclosure or through short sales. A short sale is when a lender
lets a homeowner sell for less than the mortgage is worth.
Add high unemployment and
reluctant buyers, and the outlook in many areas is bleak.
Barnes & Noble
shareholders back chairman in fight
NEW YORK (AP) -- After
shareholders backed its founder and his family Tuesday, concluding a
contentious proxy fight, book seller Barnes & Noble Inc. is looking to its
next chapter, focusing on e-commerce as shoppers shift from paper books to
digital.
The company expects 31
percent of its revenue to come from e-commerce by 2014, up from 10 percent now,
CEO William Lynch said Tuesday at the company's shareholder meeting. He said
the company's brick-and-morter stores give it an advantage over online
competitors in selling the Nook, its digital reader, because shoppers can come
to stores and try it out.
Billionaire investor Ron
Burkle had fought for months to increase his stake in the company, even taking
the feud to court.
Feds reopen probe into
medical scanner approvals
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal
inspectors have reopened an investigation into complaints by Food and Drug
Administration scientists who say they were pressured by their managers to
approve high-tech medical scanners that could pose harm to patients.
The lead inspector
overseeing the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the inquiry
into the allegations, which were dismissed in February, is being revisited to
look at manager misconduct.
Walgreen 4Q profit rises
and tops estimates
NEW YORK (AP) -- Walgreen
Co., the largest drugstore chain in the U.S., said Tuesday its profit rose 8
percent in the fiscal fourth quarter as it boosted sales by adding more than
500 stores.
Walgreen shares jumped more
than 11 percent as the results easily surpassed analyst expectations. The
shares are on pace for their largest single-day gain in a year.
Walgreen said prescription
drug sales improved, and sales of other items like cosmetics and food were more
profitable because of better prices and successful promotions. Sales of
"front end" or nonpharmacy items have been hurt by the weak economy
as shoppers have cut back on their spending.
The company also said the
beginning of flu shot season has been brisk.
High-tech, low-price toys
top toy list
NEW YORK (AP) -- This
year's hot holiday toys are high-tech -- and low-price.
From tiny remote-control
cars from Mattel to nearly paper-thin electronic guitars and drums from WowWee
Toys called Paper Jamz, technology is infused in many of this year's projected
hot toys. But that doesn't mean the return of $100 price tag, which seems to
have been for the most part banished since the recession.
Many techie toys are
wallet-friendly at under $30.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average rose 46.10, or 0.4 percent, to 10,858.14. It's up 8.4 percent so far in
September, an extraordinary showing for a month that is historically a weak one
for the market.
The Standard & Poor's
500 index rose 5.54, or 0.5 percent, to 1,147.70, while the Nasdaq composite
index rose 9.82, or 0.4 percent, to 2,379.59.
Benchmark crude for
November delivery lost 34 cents to settle at $76.18 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose as high as $77.12 a barrel earlier in the
session.
In other trading on the
Nymex, heating oil added 0.17 cent to settle at $2.1245 a gallon, gasoline gave
up 0.09 cent to settle at $1.9479 a gallon and natural gas gained 3.7 cents to
settle at $3.837 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude rose
14 cents to settle at $78.71 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.